CONTEMPORARY ELECTRIC BASS - Volume 1: A guide to improving harmonic knowledge of the fingerboard and boosting technical mastery. For 4-, 5-, 6-string bass players (beginner and intermediate level).

By Pierluigi Balducci

This method book has been devised for bass players (also beginners) using electric or acoustic basses with 4, 5, and 6 strings. It aims at reinforcing both harmonics and instrumental technique: on the one hand, the exercises presented here will improve a player's harmonic knowledge of the fretboard; on the other, they will boost their technical mastery of the instrument. With performing experience and constant practice, harmonic knowledge will easily turn into harmonic competence, while technical skills will become functional to musical needs, rather than muscular ones. To sum up, this method book offers a variety of exercises that will strengthen both the harmonic and technical abilities of its readers. The author has personally devised and tested these exercises in his capacity as a professor of electric bass studies at the conservatoires of Cosenza, Potenza, and Matera (Italy). They aim at exploring the world of TRIADS and main TETRADS (the compass every bass player should refer to when developing their accompanying lines for any musical genre), as well as PENTATONIC SCALES and MAJOR and MINOR SCALES.Some of the exercises focus on making players assimilate the knowledge of the FIRST POSITION OF THE FIONGERBOARD and the use of the FREE STRINGS, which are often both overlooked. Each exercise has been provided with specific fingering to improve the ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS OF THE LEFT HAND on the fretboard, so that it may learn to move appropriately in accordance with position changes and plan which direction to take. A whole section is devoted to the improvement of LEGATO (HAMMER-ONS and PULL-OFFS), as well as to the boosting of agility and control of the RIGHT HAND within the traditional technical approach to electric bass playing. 31 out of about 50 exercises of this book are also performed in VIDEOS that are uploaded ONLINE. It should be noted that the present method book is the 1st of a two-volume work. The 2nd volume is aimed at more advanced bassists. Moreover, this book does not aim at teaching alternative techniques such as thumb slapping, tapping and so on, although practising with legato and chords will eventually lead its readers to master them, too.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1730790984
• ISBN13: 9781730790980
• Release Date: November 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 102 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.7" x 0.2" x 8.3"